Charles II, Archduke of Austria

Charles II, Archduke of Austria (3 June 1540-10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg.

Biography
Charles was born in Vienna, Austria on 3 June 1540, the third son of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. In 1559 and from 1564 to 1568, Emperor Ferdinand attempted to marry Charles off to Queen Elizabeth I of England, hoping that Charles would succeed her as ruler of England if she died without children. However, their religious differences and the Queen's character led to these plans failing. In 1563, he was also a failed suitor of Mary, Queen of Scots. He instead married Maria Anna of Bavaria, and he reigned as Archduke of Inner Austria from 1564 to 1590. He invited Jesuits to his territory to promote the Counter-Reformation, and he founded a fortress in Croatia in 1579; it bore his name, becoming known as "Karlstadt" (now Karlovac). In 1585, he also founded the University of Graz. He died in Graz in 1590 at the age of 50.